


Target Employees Wish Sokka and Zuko Would Leave But They Won't

by alwayswaitingforsomething



Series: Hoo Boy That Was a Bad Idea With Sokka and Zuko [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Sokka (Avatar) Has a Crush on Zuko (Avatar), Sokka (Avatar)-centric, They go to Target at three in the morning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:00:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26029834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alwayswaitingforsomething/pseuds/alwayswaitingforsomething
Summary: Sokka and Zuko prepare to go ghost hunting at three in the morning.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Hoo Boy That Was a Bad Idea With Sokka and Zuko [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1889467
Kudos: 51





	Target Employees Wish Sokka and Zuko Would Leave But They Won't

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for not updating my other fics I just really wanted to get this one out there.

Did Sokka have a big, fat, bi crush on Zuko? Yes, yes he did. Is that why they are in Target at three in the morning on a Monday? Well, kind of. See, instead of a car, Hakoda had let Sokka plan a trip to Germany with two friends for his sixteenth birthday. "You can't drive anyway," Hakoda had said. "And it's cheaper." And Sokka had been secretly relived. Not having a car meant he could still ask Zuko to drive him places, as he was the only person in the gaang who could legally do so. (No one asks Toph why she-a thirteen year old blind girl-has a drivers license.) So Sokka had chosen to go ghost hunting at the Boiling Rock-a prison the Nazis used in World War Two. 

And this morning, after pulling an all-nighter, Sokka had come to the realization that if they were going to interact with the ghosts, then they would need the proper equipment. So, at two thirty-six on Monday, June sixth, Sokka texted Zuko. Here is how their excahnge went:

_S: hey can u go 2 target with me_

_Z: First of all, why are you up? Second, why do you need to go to Target?_

_S: says mr insomniac but whatever i was watching travel channel and we need stuff 2 hunt the ghosts with_

_Z: So let me get this straight-you want to go to Target at three in the morning on a Monday, when we could go at a reasonable hour of the day any day for the next week?_

_S: yep_

Sokka could practically hear Zuko's trademark long suffering sigh.

_Z: I'll be at your house in ten minutes._

Indeed Zuko pulled in Sokka's drive way ten minutes later, and he had tea. "Have I ever told your uncle how much I love him?" Sokka asked as he sipped on his. 

"How do you know I didn't make it?" Zuko asked. His voice was a little rough from having just woken up, and damn if that didn't do things to Sokka. 

"Your tea is horrible. Iroh's is not." Zuko scoffed. 

"I will leave you on the side of the road." Sokka hummed at the empty threat. "So are we going to pick up Suki?" _Suki._ Sokka hadn't even thought about her. Surely she wouldn't mind being left out just this one time? She was always encouraging Sokka to make a move on Zuko, and this was an oppertunity to do so! Suki wouldn't want him to waste it. 

"Nah, I think she'd punch me if I woke her up this early." Zuko grumbled something that sounded like, " _Why do you think I won't?"_. Sokka ignored him and looked up what they would need-or what Zak Bagans uses- _same thing Zuko_. There was...a lot. That they probably couldn't get at Target. Well, Sokka didn't wake Zuko up at the crack of dawn for nothing. With a steely resolve that Sokka wished he had when it came to english tests, he exited Zuko's car and walked into Target. 

"Okay so where do we find this stuff?" Zuko asked. 

"I don't know." Sokka said sheepishly. "Hey, its not like there's an isle that says ' _Find your ghost hunting equipment here_!'" He said when Zuko gave him a very Katara like Look. "We can just ask someone." 

"Uh, no. As someone who's worked in retail-" 

"You work in you uncles tea shop." 

"Uncle didn't always have the Jasmine Dragon. Anyway, these people are definitely tired and probably dead inside so we're going to leave them alone." Sokka huffed. 

"Fine. Let's look for an ed box first. It's supposed to detect magnetic and physical events." Zuko grabbed a cart and they began to roam the store. 

As it happened, the electronics section had many ed boxes. There was even one from the same brand that Zak Bagans used, but, seeing as it was the most expensive one, Sokka decided to leave it for the sake of his poor, flat wallet. "Which one should we get?" Zuko asked.

"I don't know. Maybe Aang will, he likes spiritual stuff and all that." 

"Yeah, _religious_ spirits. And Katara will never forgive you for ruining her boyfriends sleep schedule." 

"Oh yes, because being up for five minutes is such a tremendous loss." Zuko snorted, and that was about as close to a laugh as Sokka was going to get this early. He took it as a win. 

"So who can help us?" 

"Suki maybe? She likes to research stuff before she gets into it." 

_S: r u up_

_KW: I am now_

_S: which ed box should i get_

_KW: What_

_S: me and zuko r at target trying 2 get ghost hunting equipment_

_KW: Ooh Zuko and u alone together_

_S: stop can u help or not_

_KW: Fine fine but I want details l8er_

_KW: Get an Aunt Wu 5S_

"She said to get an Aunt Wu 5S," Sokka reported. Zuko crouched down and picked a black box of the rack and tossed it in the cart.

"Careful! You might break it!" Sokka scolded. What is it with becoming Katara at three in the morning? He wondered.

"What next?"

"A Talker. It's supposed to make the ghosts words more clear." They went to the next isle over and unlike the ed boxes, there weren't many to choose from. 

"Think we can handle this one on our own?" Zuko asked. He was looking over his shoulder at Sokka and the way his hair fell over his eyes and the fluorescent lights accented his features...he looked like an angel. _Or maybe a demon._ Thought Sokka. _Isn't seduction one of the seven deadly sins? Oh well, I'm going to Hell, I guess._

"Oh uh, yeah, definitely," Sokka said when he remembered how to function. Zuko smiled slightly, just the corner of his mouth quirking up, but Sokka saw it and knew what it meant. Another win for him. "I think this one will do." He said after a minute of fake inspection. This one was the cheapest, and didn't seem like it would work once and then never again. Zuko took it from Sokka, their fingers brushing momentarily. Sokka thinks back to a time when he wouldn't have thought twice about that, when his skin wouldn't be on fire. That was a very long time ago. 

"So now we need a night vision camera." Said Zuko, pulling Sokka from his thoughts. 

"Yeah, how'd you know?" 

"Figured if we're going hunting at night we would need one. You know, to see the ghost orbs or whatever." 

"Actually, Suki's got one. Don't know why, though." 

"Probably for the same reason Toph has a drivers license." Sokka shuddered, thinking of the diabolical things Toph and Suki could do together. Aang probably would even be able to stop them. 

"I think we've got everything we need. We don't need to go full on Ghost Adventures." 

They paid and the woman working at the cash register did look tired. She looked out the clear doors towards the parking lot more than she looked at the computer in front of her. It was four-ten now, Sokka was finally getting tired. Zuko looked that way too, if the bags under his eyes had anything to say about it. Vaguely Sokka recalls how quickly Zuko had responded to him. Had he slept at all? Well, he would now, Sokka was sure of it. And if he didn't, Katara would always be there to berate him. 


End file.
